Zanzibar, Tanzania
Photo by Danai Tsoutreli / Unsplash
TanzaniaTanzania · Zanzibar

Zanzibar

Tanzania

Spice island, Swahili coast. Best June–October, and January–February. The 'long rains' ruin April–May.

Coastal tier AFlying from New York (JFK)ZNZ
Two-week outlook
Rainy

A wet week ahead. Plan indoor backups.

28°Day
26°Night
11.6hSun/day
28°
M
29°
T
29°
W
28°
T
27°
F
28°
S
29°
S
29°
M
29°
T
28°
W
29°
T
29°
F
28°
S
29°
S
SunRainCloudSolid = next 5 days · faded = lower confidence

Days 1–5 are usually reliable, 6–10 drift, 11–14 are the model guessing. Check again the day before you fly — more on what this can and can't do.

See hotels in Zanzibar
Live prices on Booking.com, pre-filled for 2026-05-16 – 2026-05-23.

When to go

From the 2026 climate study, not the live forecast.
RecommendedAvoid

The long rains (Masika) ruin April and May — many lodges close. Best windows: June through October (dry kusi monsoon, breezy, sea 26–28°C) and January–February (kaskazi, calm seas, dry, sea 28°C). Zanzibar sits just north of the southwest Indian Ocean cyclone belt — direct strikes are very rare.

More from here
Flights
JFKZNZ on Kiwi

Pre-filled from New York, 2026-05-16 – 2026-05-23.

Compare prices
Trivago: Booking + Expedia + Agoda

One search across the aggregators if you want to price-check.

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